26/04/2024

Angus Buchan

26/04/2024

Our Light

April 26, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 60:11, Revelation 21:25

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Friday morning, the 26th of April, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today.

We start in the Book of Isaiah 60:11:

“Therefore your gates shall be open continually;

They shall not be shut day or night,…”

Isn’t that beautiful? No need to lock yourself up at night.

Then we go to the Book of Revelation 21:25:

“Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).”

There will be no night in Heaven, no need to shut yourself up, no need to lock the gates, put on the alarm, or make sure there is nothing left that someone can steal. There will be no night in Heaven, no darkness. Jesus will be there; He will be our light.

I want to ask you a question this morning. Are you afraid of the dark? Do you struggle to go to sleep at night? Well, I have got good news for you. The Lord Jesus wants to assure you today that He will be with you in the dark of the night. You know, I have a picture of the Lord sitting on a big armchair, maybe next to a fire, on a cold night, and He is asking you to come and sit on His lap, and He wants to put His big strong arms around you and pull you into his ample bosom, into his chest, and just lie there and I will tell you before you know it, you will be sound asleep.

It's not about counting sheep when you are trying to go to sleep. Just close your eyes and talk to Him and He will comfort you. You don’t have to worry about closing the gates, locking the doors, making a big fire so that no-one will come and disturb you. I think of many hunters when they camp at night, they make a big fire because they don’t want lions and hyenas to come into their camp, but when we are with Jesus we have nothing whatsoever to fear. There will be no gates in Heaven, the Lord says He will be our gate. So tonight, close your eyes, just rest in Him and He will give you ample sleep.

Jesus bless you and goodbye.

07/05/2024

May 7, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Jeremiah 7:13, Matthew 6:33

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 7th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Jeremiah 7:13: “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer,…” Jesus is calling us. Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” We cannot live a life of disobedience, doing our own thing, and then expect God to bless us. It doesn’t work that way. It is no use getting up early in the morning, having a good quiet time, listening to the voice of the Lord, and then going out and doing our own thing. Delayed obedience is actually disobedience. As followers of Christ, we need to start hearing the word of the Lord and obey it immediately. For example, pay your accounts on time, when they are due, otherwise if you don’t, your motorcar will be repossessed, and then we cry out and say, “Lord, why have you done this to us?” No, you didn’t pay your account on time.” I am a farmer and we are facing winter now in South Africa. This is the time when farmers’ firebreaks should be in place. The farmers should have made their firebreaks by now. It should be in position. Now, if you don’t make the firebreak in time, and the fire season is upon us, after the first frost things turn over night. The grass is dry, it’s vulnerable, the wind gets up and a fire breaks out in the middle of the night and burns right through your farm, and now your cattle have got nothing to eat. Then you cry out, “Lord, why have You allowed this to happen to me?” No, not at all. What’s happened is, you have delayed doing what you know is right. We really need to start hearing from God now, not only hear from God but also apply His principles, and we will succeed like never before. Have a good day, Jesus bless you, and start listening and obeying the word of God. Goodbye.

06/05/2024

May 6, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Isaiah 64:6, Philippians 3:9

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Monday morning, the 6th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in the Book of Isaiah 64:6: “And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;…” Wow! That is a powerful statement made by God. Our good works, He says, are like filthy rags. Then we go straight to the New Testament, to the Book of Philippians 3:9: ”…and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;…” We will never get to Heaven by doing good deeds or by doing good works. Now, I am going to say something that is controversial and a lot of people don’t like it when they hear it, but it is the truth, and that is that good people don’t go to Heaven, believers go to Heaven. If it was good people who went to Heaven, I want to tell you that people from other faiths would get to Heaven before most of us Christians. It is not by our efforts. It is purely by faith in Jesus Christ that we get to Heaven. You say, “Well, prove it.” Do you remember the thief on the Cross? He wasn’t a good man, he deserved to die and go to hell, but just before he died, he said to Jesus, “Lord, please remember me in Heaven.” He believed that Jesus was the Son of God, and Jesus said to him, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” I remember officiating at a funeral of a man. He wasn’t a good man, he had made many bad and poor choices in his life. His family was in a bit of a mess, he had done lots of things that he wasn’t proud of, but that man loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and at his funeral, we were standing by his grave. I said to the people, “This man is going to be with Jesus in Heaven, because I knew him and he loved God and he repented of his evil ways, and I really believe that he is going to Heaven, because good people don’t go to Heaven, believers go to Heaven.” After the service, a man who was furious, came up to me and said, “How can you say that good people don’t go to Heaven?” I said, “Because it is in the Bible, our good works are like filthy rags before God, that is what He said. We go to Heaven because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and because we repent of all our sins.” Today, remember it is faith in God that will save us, nothing else. God bless you and have a good day, Goodbye.

05/05/2024

May 5, 2024 • Angus Buchan • Psalm 31:19, 1 Corinthians 2:9

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Sunday morning, the 5th of May, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start in Psalm 31:19: “Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!” Then we go straight to 1 Corinthians 2:9: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Why do you and I always seem to settle for second best? The Lord has stored up such good things for you and I. He has stored up such good things for those who reverently respect God. Jesus has prepared so much for those who hold Him in affectionate reverence. Isn’t that beautiful? I got that out of the Amplified Bible (affectionate reverence), for those who obey Him and for those who recognise the benefits that He has given to us. We think of the Prodigal Son. He had so much prepared for him, he had an inheritance. His father was a wealthy farmer. He was going to inherit part of that farm with his brother, but what did he do? He went and squandered everything he had, and if you look at Luke 15:16, he ended up thinking to himself, “I will gladly eat the food that the pigs are eating.” It’s like a little child. Have you ever seen a little baby who gets a beautiful Christmas present or a birthday present with all that shiny bright paper and big ribbons around it? The baby undoes everything, and there is a beautiful gift awaiting that baby, but the baby ends up playing with the paper and the ribbons and doesn’t even look at the gift. You know, a very sad story - King David who killed Goliath, I think he was only about 13 years old, he traded in his glorious future for a lustful affair with another man’s wife. Oh, it cost him dearly. Yes, he repented and yes, God forgave him, but he paid a terrible price after that. You never hear of David killing any Goliaths after that affair. You and I today, rather let’s wait for the beautiful promises which God has prepared for us, and He will bless us immensely. Jesus bless you and goodbye.